Mother! And the Horror of Environmental Abuse
Document Type
Book Section
Publication Date
1-1-2020
Publication Title
The Politics of Horror
Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan
Publisher Location
London, UK
First page number:
187
Last page number:
198
Abstract
I analyze how the psychological horror film mother! functions as a symbolic representation of the Anthropocene, which is our current epoch of geological time that marks humanity’s impact on the environment. mother! elicits fear, discomfort, and confusion in audiences as they watch the main character struggle to protect her home from foreign invaders and an apathetic husband. A metaphor for the neglect of mother nature, mother! offers a visual representation of the severe damage that humans have done to nature and how such a violent, abusive relationship is unsustainable. mother! shows the horror and chaos of a world that disregards the suffering of nature to persuade us to avoid following that path. As a reflection of our most pressing societal anxieties and fears, horror films can contribute to and potentially correct our anthropocentric attitudes.
Disciplines
Communication | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Language
English
Repository Citation
Bloomfield, E. F.
(2020).
Mother! And the Horror of Environmental Abuse.
The Politics of Horror
187-198.
London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42015-4_14